Posts

President Trump Announces a General Timeframe for Re-Opening American Businesses; Health Officials Want Trump to ‘Double Down, Not Lighten up’ Restrictions

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By Townhall. Speaking from the White House Monday evening, President Donald Trump announced America will be “open for business very soon” as the country continues to battle the Wuhan coronavirus.

“America will again and soon be open for business. Very soon, a lot sooner than three or four months as someone was suggesting. We’re not going to let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We’re not going to let the cure be worse than the problem,” Trump said. “This was a medical problem, we are not going to let it turn into a long lasting financial problem.” . . .

The tension between medical decisions and a cratering economy are increasing by the day as millions lose their jobs. President Trump urged Americans to continue the 15-day “stop the spread” plan, which includes social distancing and hygiene efforts.

“I want Americans to know that we will get through this challenge. The hardship will end, it will end soon, normal life will return and our economy will rebound very very strongly but right now in the midst of this great national trial, Americans must remain united in purpose and focused on victory,” Trump said. “To every single American please know that the sacrifice you are making at this time is saving lives.” (Read more from “President Trump Announces a General Timeframe for Re-Opening American Businesses” HERE)

___________________________________________________

Health Officials Want Trump to ‘Double Down, Not Lighten up’ Restrictions

By Politico. Rattled health officials are trying to fight off ascendant voices around Donald Trump pressing the president to restart the economy as soon as Monday to stem severe business and job losses.

The prospect of resuming typical business so soon has horrified these public health leaders, who see the debate as premature amid a crisis that the administration is just beginning to wrangle, according to eight people with knowledge of the administration’s discussions about its coronavirus guidelines.

Health experts are contending the fallout will be worse if the White House declares victory now, only to have the virus resurface weeks or months from now. The government, they argue, has yet to definitively answer key questions that would dictate how to reactivate the economy: Do those who recover from coronavirus become immune? How do underlying health conditions affect the severity of the virus? And, most important, how widely has it spread?

Others have stressed the political risks facing Trump and his reelection campaign if the outbreak worsens significantly, warning that it would be catastrophic if the virus made a comeback closer to the November election — especially after Trump declared himself a “wartime” president and assured the public that his administration was in control. (Read more from “Health Officials Want Trump to ‘Double Down, Not Lighten up’ Restrictions” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Trump Says He’s Activated National Guard In Numerous States; U.S. Coronavirus Cases Top 32,000, Worldwide 340K; Rand Paul, Weinstein Positive; Romney in Isolation

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By NBC News. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he would activate the National Guard to assist Washington, California and New York, three of the states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

Those three states have been approved for major disaster declarations as of Sunday night. That status allows the federal government to provide supplies more seamlessly, he said.

Trump said large quantities of masks, respirators, gowns, face shields and other items are due to arrive in the three states within days. He added that he has ordered the government to set up large federal medical stations in each of the states.

Of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Trump said, “The relationship has really been amazing,” adding that he believes the federal government should serve as “sort of a backup for the states.” . . .

States like New York and California have already activated their states’ National Guards. (Read more from “Trump Says He’s Activated National Guard In Numerous States” HERE)

____________________________________________________

Trump Orders National Guard Into Federalized Status in Three States; They Keep Control, Federal Government Foots Bill as COVID-19 Cases Rise

By Military Times. As the number of coronavirus cases increases in the U.S., President Donald Trump Sunday night ordered National Guard troops in three states to operate under a status that allows them to be managed by state governors, but be paid by the federal government. . .

More states are expected to seek Title 32 status as the need arises, Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters Sunday night. . .

Speaking to reporters via a telephone conference, Lengyel again tamped down rumors that the Guard troops will be used to enforce martial law.

“There is no truth to this rumor that people are conspiring, that governors are planning, that anyone is conspiring to use the National Guard, mobilized or not, Title 32 or state, to do military action to enforce shelter in place or quarantines.”

The move is important, said Lengyel, because “governors and adjutant generals know the best use of what’s needed in their states,. This will help with unity of effort and speed of responses.” (Read more from “Trump Orders National Guard Into Federalized Status in Three States; They Keep Control, Federal Government Foots Bill as COVID-19 Cases Rise” HERE)

____________________________________________________

U.S. Cases Top 32,000 as New York Governor Estimates 40% to 80% of State Will Get Coronavirus

By CNN. At least 400 people have died due to the novel coronavirus in the United States, another grim milestone as the number of US cases topped 32,000 on Sunday.

Almost half of those cases — 15,168 — were in New York state, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday morning that an estimated 40% to 80% of residents could get the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic.

“All we’re trying to do is slow the spread, but it will spread. It is that contagious,” he said, adding most people will overcome the illness unless they’re older or have an underlying condition. (Read more from “U.S. Cases Top 32,000 as New York Governor Estimates 40% to 80% of State Will Get Coronavirus” HERE)

Here are the numbers, worldwide, as of March 22, 2020, at 3:30 a.m. EST:

Read more:

Rand Paul Tests Positive, Romney in Isolation

Weinstein Tests Positive in Prison

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

WATCH: Dr. Fauci Slams the Media for Continually Trying to ‘Divide’ Him and Trump

/0 Comments/in , /by

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, expressed his contempt for the media on Sunday during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

“You said this week that you differed from the president in an assessment that a combination of two drugs, Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin, combined, could have an outcome that he described to the public,” Margaret Brennan said. “Who is the president listening to and do you see a concern here that those drugs could become, basically oversubscribed, and there could be a shortage that could impact people who have persistent medical issues, like Lupus, and need those?”

“There’s an issue here of where we’re coming from. The president has heard, as we all have heard, are what I call ‘anecdotal reports’ that certain drugs work. So, what he was trying to do, and express, was the hope that it might work, let’s try and push their usage,” Fauci explained. “I, on the other hand, am not disagreeing with the fact that, anecdotally, they might work. But my view is to prove, definitively, from a scientific standpoint, that they do work. So I was taking a purely medical, scientific standpoint. And the president was trying to bring hope to the people.”

According to Fauci, the media is continually trying to find contrasts between what the NIAID director and the president have said about the Wuhan coronavirus.

“I think there’s this issue of trying to separate the two of us,” he said. “There isn’t fundamentally a difference there. He’s coming from a hope standpoint. I’m coming from it from a scientific standpoint.”

(Read more from “WATCH: Dr. Fauci Slams the Media for Continually Trying to ‘Divide’ Him and Trump” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

DNC Responds to Carter Page Lawsuit, Claiming Steele Dossier Is ‘Substantially True’

/0 Comments/in , /by

Lawyers for the Democratic National Committee claimed in court filings this week that the Steele dossier’s statements regarding Trump campaign aide Carter Page were “substantially true,” a defense that is at odds with the findings of the Justice Department’s inspector general.

“Here, the ‘gist’ of the complained-of statements — that Page coordinated with Russian government contacts as an adviser to the Trump campaign — aligns with Page’s own description of his conduct,” the DNC lawyers asserted in a court filing on Monday.

The filing was the DNC’s first in response to a defamation lawsuit that Page filed on Jan. 30 accusing the DNC and two lawyers for its outside law firm, Perkins Coie, of providing false information to journalists that came from Christopher Steele, a former British spy.

Perkins Coie, which also represented the Clinton campaign, hired the firm Fusion GPS in April 2016 to investigate Donald Trump. Fusion GPS in turn hired Steele to investigate Trump’s possible ties to Russia. Steele produced 17 memos as part of the project, alleging a “well-developed conspiracy of cooperation” between the Trump campaign and Russian government.

The FBI relied heavily on Steele’s information to obtain four warrants to conduct electronic surveillance on Page. The special counsel and Justice Department inspector general (IG) have since poured cold water on Steele’s allegations of a Trump-Russia conspiracy. (Read more from “DNC Responds to Carter Page Lawsuit, Claiming Steele Dossier Is ‘Substantially True’” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Priceless: Trump Tells Press He Should Get Rid of 75% of Them to Keep Virus From Spreading (VIDEO)

/0 Comments/in , /by

President Donald Trump joked at Thursday’s coronavirus briefing about getting rid of all the reporters he does not like, causing a least one member of the media to characterize the quip as an “attack.” . . .

“I know all of them,” he said of Congress. “I don’t know if they’re sitting like you people are sitting. You’re actually sitting too close.”

“Really, we should probably get rid of about another 75, 80 percent of you,” the president said.

(Read more from “Priceless: Trump Tells Press He Should Get Rid of 75% of Them to Keep Virus From Spreading (VIDEO)” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Cuomo: You Know Who’s Doing A Good Job On NY’s COVID-19 Outbreak? Trump (VIDEO); Trump Administration Confronts a Growing Coronavirus Threat Within

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Hot Air. Perhaps this crisis might produce a better environment for cooperation after all. This statement might have been seen as a simple process-smoothing sop from Andrew Cuomo to Donald Trump, but Cuomo sounds pretty sincere — and detailed in his praise. In his press conference updating events on the COVID-19 outbreak, Cuomo emphasized that he and Trump have always had a good working relationship, and that Trump has been “fully engaged” in the coronavirus containment efforts in New York.

“We’re fighting the same war,” Cuomo said of Trump, and “we’re in the same trench.” That’s quite a change of pace from the partisan bickering of the past few weeks:

Cuomo’s complimentary treatment of Trump has a solid factual basis too, at least for Cuomo. The governor announced that New York has now confirmed more than 2,000 cases of COVID-19 infection, the most of any state, and that requires a more robust response. Trump has now ordered a Navy hospital ship to go to New York City to provide more capacity for overtaxed medical facilities in the state, which will help address an anticipated bed shortage over the next few weeks:

(Read more from “Cuomo: You Know Who’s Doing A Good Job On NY’s COVID-19 Outbreak? Trump” HERE)

_____________________________________________________

Trump Administration Confronts a Growing Coronavirus Threat Within

By Politico. The federal agency that serves as an international multimedia broadcaster for the U.S. informed all employees of its first known coronavirus case about an hour after it knew.

But the agency responsible for regulating civil aviation in the U.S. didn’t immediately tell technical operations employees about a positive test result at a Las Vegas airport, allowing them to continue working in a potentially infected area. Those employees, including technicians who had just completed their shifts, found out after a tower was evacuated.

Dozens of employees who work across the nation’s federal agencies have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, adding to the surging count of well over 10,000 confirmed cases in the United States. Experts expect the number of cases to continue rising as more tests are made available — and the federal government’s millions of employees are just as exposed as the American public at large. Meanwhile, hundreds, if not thousands, of other government employees have quarantined themselves either out of precaution or because they are exhibiting symptoms of the disease.

But if the Trump administration has a unified policy on how it is handling the grim march of the virus within its own ranks, it isn’t sharing it. (Read more from “Trump Administration Confronts a Growing Coronavirus Threat Within” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

WATCH: Trump Calls out Reporter When She Says Government Was Unprepared on Coronavirus Testing; Ilhan Omar Offers Trump Rare Praise; Joe Biden Claims We Have Pandemic Because of Trump

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By The Blaze. President Donald Trump shot down a reporter’s question during a coronavirus media briefing on Thursday over previous accusations of racism made by her network.

NBC’s Kristen Welker asked a pointed question about the government’s preparedness in relation to the pandemic when the president fired back.

“You did say a few days ago though, you did have a sense that this was a pandemic that was coming, so why was the United States not prepared with more testing?” asked Welker.

“We were very prepared, the only thing we weren’t prepared for was the media, the media has not treated it fairly,” responded the president.

(Read more from “WATCH: Trump Calls out Reporter When She Says Government Was Unprepared on Coronavirus Testing” HERE)

______________________________________________________

Ilhan Omar Offers Trump Rare Praise for Coronavirus Response

By New York Post. Rep. Ilhan Omar commended President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in an unexpected moment of rare praise.

“Politics aside, this is incredible and the right response in this critical time,” Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted Wednesday evening alongside a hand-clapping emoji.

The frequent Trump critic and member of “The Squad” was responding to a tweet about the commander in chief’s recent actions to combat the coronavirus, including, as the quote read, “suspending mortgage foreclosures, demanding cash payments to Americans, now invoking the Defense Production Act to force private firms to produce needed supplies.”

Omar went on to praise Trump, who has feuded with Omar on multiple occasions, by referencing words of wisdom from fellow “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

(Read more from “Ilhan Omar Offers Trump Rare Praise for Coronavirus Response” HERE)

______________________________________________________

Fact Check: Joe Biden Claims We Have Coronavirus Because of Trump

By Breitbart. CLAIM: The coronavirus outbreak hit the U.S. because President Donald Trump “eliminated” President Barack Obama’s pandemic office.

VERDICT: FALSE.

Former vice president Joe Biden claimed on Twitter on Thursday that the U.S. is “paying the price” of coronavirus because President Trump “eliminated” an office that dealt with pandemics.

Biden is wrong — very wrong. This falsehood almost deserves an entirely separate category of ignominy because of its ability to divide and frighten people in the middle of a crisis that requires social cooperation and trust.

The truth — as explained earlier this week in the Washington Post by former National Security Council official Tim Morrison — is that the office was combined with others in a reorganiztion that “left the biodefense staff unaffected.” (Read more from “Fact Check: Joe Biden Claims We Have Coronavirus Because of Trump” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Trump Closing Southern Border to Asylum Seekers (and Illegals); Canadian Border Closing to Non-Essential Traffic; Very Disturbing Video from Italy

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Daily Caller. President Donald Trump confirmed reports that his administration will turn away illegal aliens and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump confirmed speculation that the southern border will be closed off to asylum seekers and anyone else who attempts to enter the United States illegally during a White House press briefing Wednesday regarding the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic.

“On asylum seekers and people who cross the southern border illegally, are you planning to invoke [42 U.S. Code § 265] which would allow you to prohibit entry of certain people across the board,” a reporter asked Trump on Wednesday.

“The answer is yes,” he answered.

When asked when this order will take place, Trump said it would be executed “very soon, probably today.” (Read more from “Trump Confirms He Is Shutting off Southern Border to Illegal Aliens and Asylum Seekers” HERE)

_______________________________________________

Coronavirus Response: U.S. and Canada Closing World’s Longest Border to Non-Essential Traffic, Trump and Trudeau Say

By CNBC. The United States border with Canada will temporarily close to “non-essential traffic” due to the coronavirus pandemic, the leaders of both countries said Wednesday morning.

The U.S.-Canada is the world’s longest border between two countries. The closing will affect tourism, but not trade, or workers involved in so-called essential work.

“We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic,” President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter.

“Trade will not be affected.”

Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau, at a press conference in Ottawa, said “I just spoke to President Trump again this morning, and we have agreed that both Canada and the United States will temporarily restrict all non-essential travel across the Canada-U.S. border.” (Read more from “Coronavirus Response: U.S. and Canada Closing World’s Longest Border to Non-Essential Traffic, Trump and Trudeau Say” HERE)

_______________________________________________

Italian Hospitals Overwhelmed as this Disturbing Video from Yesterday Shows

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Donald Trump Wins Republican Presidential Nomination

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Breitbart. President Donald Trump officially earned the delegates required to be the Republican nominee on Tuesday.

After winning the primaries in both Florida and Illinois on Tuesday night, the president passed the delegate threshold of 1,276 required to win the nomination. (Read more from “Donald Trump Wins Republican Presidential Nomination” HERE)

____________________________________________

How Postponing Primaries for COVID-19 Could Complicate the 2020 Race

By PBS. With concern over novel coronavirus shutting down much of public life in the United States, states holding upcoming primaries face a dilemma. The Centers for Disease Control and the Trump administration have recommended postponing gatherings of people over a certain capacity, while many schools, libraries and other places that often double as polling centers have shuttered their daily operations as a precaution.

A growing number of states have gone ahead and postponed their primaries, raising questions about how the 2020 presidential race will move forward in a time of public crisis. . .

Three states are pushing forward with voting on Tuesday: Illinois, Arizona and Florida.

Looking further ahead, Kentucky’s secretary of state also recommended moving the state’s elections, initially set for May 19, to June 23. These changes come after Georgia postponed its primary from March 24 to May 19, and Louisiana postponed from April 4 to June 20. Maryland will also move its primary, originally scheduled for April 28, to June 2. (Read more from “How Postponing Primaries for COVID-19 Could Complicate the 2020 Race” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Trump Considering ‘Full’ Pardon for Michael Flynn

/0 Comments/in , /by

President Donald Trump said Sunday he is considering a full pardon for former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about dealings with Russia’s ambassador before Trump took office.

Flynn attempted to withdraw the guilty plea in January, saying federal prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and broke their end of the bargain when they sought prison time for him.

“I am strongly considering a Full Pardon!” Trump tweeted. The president also cited an unspecified report that the Justice Department had lost records related to Flynn’s case. In response, Flynn’s lawyer, Sidney Powell, tweeted, “Thank you, Mr. President” and said “the persecution” of his client “is an egregious injustice.”

(Editor’s note – Please watch this insightful interview on Gen. Flynn from last week:)

Prosecutors had initially said Flynn was entitled to avoid prison time because of his extensive cooperation, but the relationship with the retired Army lieutenant general grew increasingly contentious after he hired a new set of lawyers.

Flynn is one of six Trump aides and associates charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. (Read more from “Trump Considering ‘Full’ Pardon for Michael Flynn” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE